One idea is a separate staff that vanishes after the first line; and all the other staves emerge only on the second line (i.e., after a system break on the first staff) - see attachment BellChart-A.

A somewhat simpler solution is to use the top staff as the chart staff in the first line; however, it seems that one has, then, to live with a staff label on the chart line if one needs labels ... see BellChart-B.

Suitable gaps center the chart on the first line. Its notes are muted and, additionally, skipped via 1./2. endings. Bar counting is done with a BarCounter.nw object that starts counting after the chart.

Your other option would be to insert a BellsUsed.ms object at the beginning of your score, and configure the various options, such as the notes you want to appear.

Oh wait, you can't do that yet, because I would need to write it first

Maybe a plugin object isn't the best way to do this, but it might be an interesting project, if you don't get suitable results with the other approaches offered. It would also allow for some additional options, such as a reduced staff size (if needed).

Thank you for the suggestions. I had figured everything out except for the bar counter because I don't usually use that but this might be a good opportunity to try it out.

Mike, if you feel like that would be an interesting project to take on then by all means please do! I will be writing more handbell music in the future, I believe. You fooled me there for minute, and I'm glad I did not miss an existing user object. We have to keep up with Muscore don't we?

One idea is a separate staff that vanishes after the first line; and all the other staves emerge only on the second line (i.e., after a system break on the first staff) - see attachment BellChart-A.

A somewhat simpler solution is to use the top staff as the chart staff in the first line; however, it seems that one has, then, to live with a staff label on the chart line if one needs labels ... see BellChart-B.

Suitable gaps center the chart on the first line. Its notes are muted and, additionally, skipped via 1./2. endings. Bar counting is done with a BarCounter.nw object that starts counting after the chart.

Maybe something better can be developed from these ideas ...

H.M.

Thank you for these ideas. It is a bit convoluted on the screen, isn't? It will get me started, but maybe Mike will have time to clean up the process using his technical wizardry...

... It is a bit convoluted on the screen, isn't it? ... maybe Mike will ... clean up the process using his technical wizardry...

Yes, it is.

Of course, you will hide the "chart staff" (in variants A and C) during editing, and then, they virtually do not disturb writing the music (see attachment).

And of course someone could write a specific plugin for this, very special, case ...

... but NWC has a larger missing feature: It cannot "stitch together" unrelated scores for printing. The problem is most pressing if one wants to print say a cantata, where the first piece is for choir (+ e.g. organ) and the second for a soloist (+ organ): One would like to write them in separate score files, because the voices are different; but if the end of the first piece and the start of the second should be printed together on one page, this is virtually impossible. Maybe printing them as TIFFs (which can contain multiple pages) and then using some tool that "overlays" the graphics ("white is transparent") might help - of course after putting in enough white space so that NWC puts the pieces at the right places on the pages ... has anyone tried that (and knows about tools for this)?

- because then, the bell chart problem could similarly be solved by creating the chart as a completely separate score and then "printing it in" ...

If the Bells Used staff is meant to occupy the entire first system, wouldn't it be easy to do with a forced system break, having the bar count start at zero, and excluding all the bar lines on the first system from the bar count?

As for stitching two pieces together, would it work to have four systems? The first system is the Bells Used staff, and it could either just end at the system break or be collapsed from that point on.The second system would be the first instrument, with collapse staff used at the beginning and again where the second instrument is introduced. From then on, it could simply be terminated or filled with rests. The third system would be full of rests and be collapsed until its notes begin. Where the second song starts, use a boundary change to increase the distance between the two songs for the length of its first system. The fourth system would be the organ, and it would be collapsed from the beginning until it reaches the end of the Bells Used staff, but otherwise would continue from the start of the first song to the end of the second one..Making the two songs one file screws up the embedded bar count, but there's a tool that I imagine can overcome that (I've never used it).

So:Staff 1 Bells Used staff xxxxx/system break to end this staff hereStaff 2 Song 1 collapse this staff until the notes start-----------------xxxxxxxxxxxxxx/collapse this staff again---Staff 3 Song 2 /collapse this staff until the notes start, then do a boundary offset for its first system-----xxxxxxxxxxxxxStaff 4 Song 1 and 2 for the common instrumentxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

If the Bells Used staff is meant to occupy the entire first system, wouldn't it be easy to do with a forced system break, etc.etc.etc.

For the bells, this is exactly what my example BellChart-A.nwctxt, attached to the first answer, does - almost to the letter.

Re the song 1/2 suggestion (where I was no longer talking about the bell chart, but about all pieces that consist of multiple movements or the like) - of course, this is possible, and I have done it. But it's sort of a nightmare (you might want to try it with a cantata of 6...8 pieces) - showing/hiding staffs while editing e.g. the 3rd piece, inserting all those rests (or whatever) in voices only present in later movements, jumping to the "beginning of the fourth movement", maybe having multiple segnos and codas etc.etc. - it just does not work nicely, and all that only because you want to print parts of two movements on a single page.

One helpful feature would be if one could assign a staff to multiple groups - then one could have groups "movement 1", "movement 2" etc., with e.g. the organ present in both (or more) such groups. But this is more a crutch than a real solution, I think.

This is a separate question as well but suspect it might have the same type of answer. I'd like to provide an alternate ending on a piece. Separated by space. I haven't attempted it yet but am thinking about it.

This is a separate question as well but suspect it might have the same type of answer. I'd like to provide an alternate ending on a piece. Separated by space. I haven't attempted it yet but am thinking about it.

This should actually be quite easy, if you aren't concerned about playback. If you do a system break, and immediately add a boundary change to the top staff that has a larger upper margin, this should give you the spacing you need. If the alternate ending is more than one system in length, you can add another boundary change that resets the upper margin to its previous value.

Maybe printing them as TIFFs (which can contain multiple pages) and then using some tool that "overlays" the graphics ("white is transparent") might help - of course after putting in enough white space so that NWC puts the pieces at the right places on the pages ... has anyone tried that (and knows about tools for this)?

NWC lets you save a page as an EMF. With IrfanView, you can crop it and combine it with other images with IrfanView's 'Create Panoramic Image ...' IrfanView also lets you paste a clipboard image into a rectangular selection of its main image. I use this a lot for manipulating scanned music to manage page turns.

... With IrfanView, you can crop it and combine it with other images ...

Thanks, that's a good hint. Next time, I'll try this when I create a multiple-movement piece or need to insert some special staff like that bell usage (no, I don't write for bells - but similar needs sometimes occur).

NWC lets you save a page as an EMF. With IrfanView, you can crop it and combine it with other images with IrfanView's 'Create Panoramic Image ...' IrfanView also lets you paste a clipboard image into a rectangular selection of its main image. I use this a lot for manipulating scanned music to manage page turns.

I don't use IrfanView, but I've been successful at doing much the same thing with Microsoft Word. I've also found that you can edit the inserted EMF "picture", and you can do tweaks on the score, including moving notes or text, or changing selected lyrics to italics. Perhaps IrfanView also allows such edits.

I am attempting to use the first method described above but an having some trouble with allignment since I had to take out the bass clef on bells used and add some more notes: from Bb below middle C up to high C (two octaves above middle C). I had just cut and paste the first chart into my score and adapted from there. The result is that the bells used aren't in the middle but at the left margin.

You can't copy and paste more than one "system" at a time. A system is a single staff from start to finish.

You can add one or more new system for the actual song, and simply end the Bells Used staff with a few spacers and a hidden bar line set to Force System Break. Your second and other new system would simply start with one bar with a hidden rest and hidden bar line.

If you want to do it all in one system, while you don't really need it, create an invisible 15/4 time signature at the beginning. Just after your high C, add a bar line, make it invisible, but set it to Force System Break. Unless you need whatever comes after the gap to be on the same line, you won't need the gap because FSB will force the system to wrap to the next line when printing.

Copy this into a new song file and do a print preview to see what I mean.

!NoteWorthyComposerClip(2.751,Single)|Boundary|Style:Gap|Width:2000|SystemConnections:N|User|XText.hmm|Pos:7|Font1:PageText|Text1:"Handbells Used"|Bar|Style:Transparent|Clef|Type:Treble|TimeSig|Signature:15/4|Visibility:Never|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:b-7|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:-6|Opts:Muted|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:-5|Opts:Muted|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:b-4|Opts:Muted|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:-3|Opts:Muted|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:-2|Opts:Muted|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:-1|Opts:Muted|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:b0|Opts:Muted|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:1|Opts:Muted|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:2|Opts:Stem=Down|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:b3|Opts:Stem=Down|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:4|Opts:Stem=Down|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:6|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:7|Opts:Stem=Down|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:8|Opts:Stem=Down|Boundary|Style:Gap|Width:2000|SystemConnections:N|Bar|SysBreak:Y|Visibility:Never|Text|Text:"˅ Everything to the right of this point will be on the next line"|Font:StaffLyric|Pos:11|Clef|Type:Treble|Key|Signature:Bb,Eb|Tonic:B|TimeSig|Signature:4/4|Rest|Dur:Whole|Bar|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:-6|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=First|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:-5|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=End|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:-4|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=First|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:-3|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=End|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:-2|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=First|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:-1|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=End|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:0|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=First|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:1|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=End|Bar|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:-6|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=First|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:-5|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=End|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:-4|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=First|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:-3|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=End|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:-2|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=First|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:-1|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=End|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:0|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=First|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:1|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=End|Bar|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:-6|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=First|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:-5|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=End|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:-4|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=First|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:-3|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=End|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:-2|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=First|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:-1|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=End|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:0|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=First|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:1|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=End|Bar|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:-6|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=First|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:-5|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=End|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:-4|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=First|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:-3|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=End|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:-2|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=First|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:-1|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=End|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:0|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=First|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:1|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=End|Bar|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:-6|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=First|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:-5|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=End|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:-4|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=First|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:-3|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=End|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:-2|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=First|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:-1|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=End|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:0|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=First|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:1|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=End|Bar!NoteWorthyComposerClip-End

This is what I have used and everything is great except for that initial connection line connecting it to the other instrumental staves. Is there a way to eliminate it? I'm excited to report that a handbell group and children's choir will be performing this original composition together this Christmas.

Mhm ... if you do it like that I am very sure you cannot get rid of the connecting line - because, in Noteworthy's view, there are 4 staves that start at the same time, i.e., make up the same measures. | Bells chart| music staff 1| music staff 2| music staff 3

So, NWC connects them on the very left.

The only way I believe you can solve this is that you consider the "bells chart" to be before the composition, so essentially it should look like this:| Bells chart || rests | music staff 1| rests | music staff 2| rests | music staff 3

With a forced break at the end of the bells chart staff, this will then look like this:| Bells chart || rests || rests || rests |

| useless staff| music staff 1| music staff 2| music staff 3

But now you must get rid of

the three unnecessary segments with rests on the first segment

the useless chart staff from the second system onwards

... which you have to do with "Boundary" items that "collapse" and "forbid collapsing" these parts to finally arrive at:| Bells chart |

| music staff 1| music staff 2| music staff 3

which is, I think, what you want.

That's the only way I can see to get rid of that connecting line ...... and it's what I showed somewhere above in the BellCharts-B.nwctxt example.

--------

Using David's idea above, you can save one staff (but cannot then give the chart and the top level different labels):